1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fishing rod rack assembly for supporting a plurality of fishing rods and more particularly to a fishing rod rack assembly which is removably engageable with the side walls of a bed of a pick up truck for the support of a plurality of fishing rods.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When a fisherman travels from his home to a location where he is going to conduct fishing, one of his concerns is for the protection of his fishing tackle, including the fishing rod and reel. If the fishing rod can be broken down into several components, then the transport of the rod is relatively easy. However, with some fishing rods such as surf casting rods, they do not break down and their length is sometimes in excess of 14 feet, and vertical clearance can become a problem with trees, power lines, toll booths, etc.
One solution for transporting rods of this type was to fashion a rod rack out of tubular material which would fasten to the front bumper and frame of the vehicle and support vertically oriented tubes into which the fishing rod could be slidably mounted, thereby transporting them in a vertical orientation at the front of the vehicle. This allows for the transport of a plurality of rods, but the rack itself requires some effort in order to install to the under chassis of the vehicle. Still further, in fabricating this rack, there is a certain limitation as to the number of vertical tubes that can be engaged on the rack for support of fishing rods.
Another solution to the problem has been roof racks for vehicles such as SUVs and station wagons in which the pole can be clamped in place or placed in tubes in a horizontal position on the roof of the vehicle. In such a situation, the placement of the roof rack requires some degree of effort and it is not easily removed and the positioning of fishing rods into the horizontal tubes or clamps is somewhat cumbersome.
Applicant has developed a fishing rod support rack which is cooperative with the side walls of a pick up truck and allows for quick installation and quick removal and can accommodate a greater number of fishing rods than currently available with fishing rod racks available in the market place, and can support those fishing rods at any selected angle from the horizontal to the vertical to enable the vertical clearance issue to be addressed.
An object of the present invention is to provide for a novel fishing rod rack for the support of fishing rods during transportation, which rack is easily installed and/or removed from the bed of a pick up truck.
Another object of the present invention is to provide for a novel fishing rod rack which can support a plurality of poles at any angle between the horizontal and the vertical.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel fishing rod rack for support of a plurality of fishing rods which allows fishing rods to be angularly stored on both sides of the support rod.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel fishing rod rack which allows the user to address vertical issues.
A fishing rod rack for the support of a plurality of fishing rods, the fishing rod rack spanning the width of the bed of a pick up truck, the fishing rod rack having a two piece bracket member at each end for engaging the inward lip of the respective side walls, there being a support rod extending between opposing bracket members, there being a plurality of support tubes rotatably secured to the support rod by a clasp member rotatable about the support rod and secured in angular position by a pair of set screws.